The Hunter's Wish
by PepsiCola541
Summary: Percy has angered Artemis by being blamed for something he didn't do. He is cursed to live as a wolf for the rest of his life- to travel with the Hunters for eternity. Not wanting to be separated from her only love in life, Annabeth decides to take the oath and become a Hunter, so she'll be with him forever. But what tricks does Artemis harbor up her sleeve?
1. Chapter 1: Percy

"No!" the older boy screamed, desperate for the warning to meet the girl's ears. He stumbled through the forest, chasing after her, tripping on logs and tree roots. He could hardly see the small figure in the distance; her hair was but a slight blonde beacon, shining with filtered sunlight under the forest treetops.

He prayed, he hoped, he wished for her to stop. He should have known she would sneak out, for he had had the same dream, the dream that was now his reality, a week ago. She was only a child- why did the Fates wish her to die so young? But he could save her. He would save her. Still, through all of his running, an image of shears cutting yarn popped into his head, and he squeezed his eyes shut. This foolish and accidental movement caused him to fall once more, hard, into a pond.

But the pond had an opposite effect on him. It invigorated his senses, strengthened his limbs. He tingled with newfound energy. With a pulling sensation in his gut, he summoned a whirlpool of water to guide him upward. He exploded from the surface like a geyser and continued to search for the little girl, his screams even more pleading than before now that he couldn't see her.

She stepped forward, heedless to his distant cry, and knelt with one knee to the ground, hiding amidst the shrubbery.

As a daughter of Apollo, the young girl had yet to bring pride to her father. That was the only thing in the world she wanted. For even a child of six wished for her father to be proud of her.

She could do it. Archery came naturally to the young girl; all she had to do was shoot. In her mind, she imagined herself pulling an arrow from her sheath, placing it correctly on her bow, pulling her arms back, letting it go-

She winced. She hated the sight of blood, as any small child would. And the animal before her, oblivious to danger, was the most beautiful she had ever seen at her young age. It was a deer, calm and graceful in stature, with a coat of silver fur that, when it caught the light, gave the illusion that it was on fire. It nuzzled the ground timidly, wide eyes briefly darting around to look for danger, until it finally relented again and went back to grazing.

The girl silently sighed. Tight-lipped, she reached back behind her. Her tiny hand closed around an arrow- she realized it was her last- and she quietly pulled it out of the sheath.

One try. That was all. She couldn't afford to miss- a stray arrow was as good as a yell. And she was becoming increasingly aware of the older boy's screams behind her. She had to shoot before the deer got wind of them.

The deer's head shot straight up, grass still in its lips. It pondered for two, three, four seconds before inclining its head back to the ground.

His screams had stopped, momentarily.

Wondering for only a few seconds what had happened to him, she felt immense relief wash over her. He would not endanger her shot, at least not now.

She blew a shuddery, almost inaudible sigh. Her fist enclosing the arrow brought it to meet her bow. She counted: one, two, three...

It had been six seconds when the tears came. Silently, they screamed her pain… Taking a life was something she thought she'd never do.

Ten, eleven, twelve...

At fifteen, eyes shut, she released her hold on the arrow.

it whispered a quiet whistle through the wind, heading toward its target. A quiet _thunk _sounded against the air.

A low moan.

A scream: "No!"

A sob.

The girl opened her inexperienced eyes. They wandered to the deer's wound, and another sob escape her lips. Arms encased her frail body- the boy had found her. He brought her to a cluster of bushes five feet away.

"You will never speak of this. Promise me on the River Styx."

She brokenly whispered, "Yes," nodding twice.

"Do not make one sound, do you hear me?" His eyes were shining, his brows knotted with anxiety and pain. His harsh whisper shot another pang of guilt into her, and a fresh wave of tears threatened to flood from her eyes, but she nodded again, trying to swallow the lump in her throat.

Taking her empty sheath, he tossed it over his own shoulder and took her bow from her white-knuckled fist. He let go of the bush's leaves, and they blocked her sight, in turn blocking any outsiders from seeing her.

She fervently listened. The tears still silently streamed down her face.

He swallowed his own sobs, wishing he had gotten to her sooner, caught her before she escaped the camp. He waited, silent, wishing and hoping and praying.

To no avail. The golden blood of the silver deer glinted like the sun. He closed his eyes before the body of the deer erupted in a brilliant gold. His eyelids did little to filter the light from his eyes.

His whole body went rigid at the sound of his name.

"Percy Jackson."

Unwillingly, he opened his eyes again.

Artemis stood before him, for once in the form of a young woman. Her hair tumbled down her back to meet the forest floor. The dress she wore bore a golden mark in its side- the place she had been shot.

"How dare you, Percy, if you knew I was a goddess in a specific form?" Her tone was firm, dangerously low, and slightly shocked.

Having no explanation, his eyes traveled down, looking at the dirt on his knees and the scrapes on his hands.

"You will live forever with your shame, serving under me for eternity."

A burning sensation started on his hands- he dropped the girl's bow. His nails elongated and curled downward. Hair started to sprout from his hands-no, it was fur. It ran over his fingers, his arms, his shoulders. The empty sheath of arrows fell to meet the bow as his arms shortened.

He was in complete agony. His whole body was on fire. The stocky arms grew heavy with muscle and thick fur. His legs turned backwards, it seemed,and his feet elongated. His toenails turned into claws. A tail sprouted from behind him, billowing with long fur. He fell to the ground on all fours. His canine teeth grew over his bottom lip, and his snout grew outward. His ears moved upward, running along the top of his head, and they formed into triangles. His eyesight grew dull, the colors becoming mostly blue and gray.

He heard, with his better hearing, a long whine. He realized it was coming from him.

Artemis fashioned a chain around his neck, and she tugged him forward. He didn't fight, like she seemingly expected him to. Had he been human, he would have cried. He knew there was no chance of escaping this fate. Instead he looked to the ground, following his new mistress to his new home, to his new future as a wolf for the Hunters of Artemis.


	2. Chapter 2: Annabeth

Dawn stretched across the sky, the colors bleeding in a brilliant array of light. She sat, alone, on the pier, legs dangling off the edge. Her bare feet skimmed the surface, making ripples in the water. She watched them fade as the water became still.

Everything fades, she thought bitterly, tossing her half-eaten sandwich into the water and watching it sink. She half-heartedly hoped he would erupt from the water, splashing her in the process, hold up the soggy sandwich, and say something corny like, "You dropped something."

She snorted at her mental image of the scene. He was such an idiot. But he was her idiot, nevertheless.

Percy was forgetful, but to forget their picnic date they had on every Friday? Repetition was supposed to make things stay, right?

Looking back at the water, which her feet still traced, she watched the ripples disappear, again and again.

She sighed. Apparently not.

She'd already checked every cabin for him, every place he could be. The sword fighting area, the lava wall, the archery targets… Not one of them housed him. Why would he leave camp, especially without telling anyone? The idea was fairly absurd. He must have had a good reason.

She took the threadbare tablecloth in her fingers, rubbing the surface absentmindedly. How many hours had passed since she had arrived? One? Two?

Her muscles screamed in protest as she got up, her limbs numb from waiting in the same position for so long. With a heavy heart, she gathered up the cliché, red checkered tablecloth and the still-full picnic basket. As she walked along the beach, the tide rose and fell, lapping at her feet. The night was cool and perfect; a breeze blew her hair back.

She wished her Seaweed Brain was there, grabbing her hand spontaneously like always, pulling her along as they raced the length of the shore. Tackling her to the soft sand. Wiggling sand from between their toes. Kissing him in the first rays of the morning. Sneaking back to their cabins. Him suggesting, jokingly, that she stay in his cabin for the night. Her slapping him fondly on the chest.

Oh, the times they had.

But tonight certainly was unlike any other. As she took a detour through the strawberry patch, she heard shuddering breaths. Someone was crying.

Her brow furrowed, trying to make out who was there, with only the slight light of the morning to guide her. Finally, she spotted the new girl- Carmen Solis, only six. She was the youngest camper, as of now- a daughter of Apollo.

"Carmen," Annabeth soothed. "What's wrong, honey?"

Carmen looked up at her, her eyes watery and wide. Once the little girl saw who it was, she only sobbed harder. She wiped her nose on her already tear-drenched shirt as Annabeth knelt down to the young girl, setting the picnic supplies down. She put her arm around Carmen.

"Tell me."

Carmen shook her head fervently. "No, I ca-a-an't!" she sobbed. "I promised!"

Annabeth's eyes grew stormy with worry. "Promised who?"

Carmen just shook her head again. Annabeth's mind was buzzing- did this have to do with Percy's disappearance?

Annabeth licked her lips anxiously. "Come on, sweetheart. Let's go to the Big House."

Carmen protested, moaning, "No…" over and over. Annabeth picked her up, patting her back and saying that it was going to be okay, although that was more for her benefit than Carmen's.

Once inside the white farmhouse, she set Carmen down in a squishy chair under the giant leopard head, which growled quietly at Annabeth. Annabeth hissed back at it, causing Carmen to laugh a little. Despite her worry, Annabeth allowed herself a smile.

Annabeth wandered into the activities director's room. He was sleeping standing up, his tail in its usual curlers. She found it a little odd that he slept with his bow in hand, his sheath of arrows also strapped across his chest. One of his hooves was cocked back, and he was snoring lightly.

"Chiron!" she whisper-yelled. Being a light sleeper, the centaur sprang to attention in a matter of seconds, bow raised.

Once he regained sense of reality, he lowered his bow from Annabeth's face. His bleary eyes widened in nervousness.

"Annabeth? What is the matter?"

Her calm expression tightened, turning into more of a worried grimace. "I don't really know," she said, shrugging helplessly.

The centaur gave her a questioning look, and she gestured for him to follow her. Once in the main room, he caught sight of the sobbing child. Hs face reflected more worry than Annabeth's, anxiety etched into his weathered eyes.

"Carmen?" he asked gently. "What's wrong?"

"She said she couldn't tell me when I asked her," Annabeth cut in. "Says she promised someone something."

Chiron frowned, turning to Annabeth. "Do you have any idea what it could be, or who?"

Her gray eyes looked down. She sighed. "I think... I think it might be Percy. We were supposed to meet up a couple hours ago, but he didn't show."

He raised an eyebrow at her, because they weren't allowed out of their cabins at that time, but then decided to overlook it for now. Greater things were at stake.

In all of his years as a teacher, the centaur hadn't seen another hero more apt for trouble than Percy. He was just one of those reckless teenagers that was a magnet for trouble, doing things on a whim without a second thought.

Teenagers and their hormones gone wild, he thought, shaking his head. Annabeth was staring at him strangely, and he cleared his throat.

"Annabeth... I'm sorry to say this, but if Carmen here took an oath on the River Styx, there's nothing we can do to get the information from her."

Carmen sobbed harder, if that was possible. Annabeth had a fleeting thought of how the small girl could hold so much water.

"We should recruit people, try to find him," Annabeth suggested, desperation seeping into her tone. "I'm sure there are other demigods at camp who would definitely try to search for him, save Clarisse. The Roman camp could pitch in. And there's the Hunters, surely they could help! I could Iris-message Thalia right now…"

A sad, weary look from the old centaur cut her off.

"Annabeth, why don't you get some rest? We will continue this discussion in the morning."

She opened her mouth to protest, but Chiron held up a hand to stop her. "Carmen needs rest, too, and you need your strength if you're going to hold the search tomorrow."

Annabeth sent him a half-smile. "Thank you, Chiron."

He sleepily smiled in return, pulling a quilt over the sleeping Carmen before trotting back to his room.

When Annabeth returned to Athena's cabin, she climbed into her bunk and pulled the covers over her head.

When she finally fell asleep, she dreamed of a silver wolf with sea-green eyes.


	3. Chapter 3: Thalia

If Thalia knew anything about the life of being a demigod, it was that seemingly normal days were far from normal. If everything was sunshine and birdsong, suddenly a monster would cross her path. If someone was really nice to her, acting as if they wanted to be her friend, they were probably a monster in disguise.

And, unfortunately, today was one of those "normal" days. It was this kind of day that had Thalia more irritable than usual. She went off on anyone who approached her, save Artemis. Her spiky black hair stuck up in odd parts, the effect of her lack of brushing. Her eyes narrowed at any sound, especially the birdsong, which made her feel as if she was stuck in Snow White's fairytale.

Being Thalia, this only enraged her further.

She decided she'd stay in her tent while the others looked for signs of danger, mumbling that they could call her if they sensed anything. The girls were silent, not wanting to make an enemy of her on one of her worst days.

She fell face-first into her cot, cursing under her breath. She just knew something would happen. It was so typical for demigods to have a run-in with trouble that she half-heartedly wished it would just make itself known already. She wanted this doomed feeling to pass.

Suddenly, her tent flap opened, revealing the obnoxious sunlight. She started to protest when she saw who it was in the doorway. She straightened her posture immediately.

"Lady Artemis," Thalia choked out. She and the other Hunters hadn't seen the goddess for weeks.

Artemis sent her a half-smile. Thalia noted that it looked a bit strained. "Thalia, I'm afraid I have some bad news."

Thalia's brows furrowed together. Her expression turned grim. Quietly, she asked, "What kind of bad news?"

Artemis sighed. She pulled her other arm into Thalia's range of vision.

Artemis was holding onto a chain, at the end of which was a wolf with silver fur. Seeing a wolf like this wasn't out of the ordinary, seeing as the wolves traveled in packs with the Hunters, but the fact that it was chained was a bit odd. They were trained not to ever attack the Hunters, but to do what the Hunters said. They were even cute and sweet sometimes- like puppies. Especially whenever there was monster meat around.

"Lady Artemis, why-?"

Artemis cut her off. "I'm sorry, Thalia. But someone who tries to kill an immortal has due punishment."

Thalia frowned. Her face mirrored that of both confusion and anxiety- not that she'd ever admit she was nervous.

She was about to ask who was to blame for this attack on Artemis when she saw the wolf's face.

Until that moment, it had solemnly stared at its paws, looking dejected. Now, slowly, it raised its head. The wolf met Thalia's intense and horrified gaze. The sea-green eyes, the jet-black tips of the wolf's ears... It only took a split second for Thalia to realize who he was.

Seaweed Brain.

She blinked once before turning her eyes to Artemis, staring at the goddess increduously.

"Percy? Ohmigods, is that him?" She didn't know why, but tears had started to burn behind her eyes. She was Thalia- she didn't ever cry. But still they came. And she hated them. In that moment, she felt such intense hate that she'd never known before, and it shocked her. She hadn't even felt this way when she'd decided to run away from the Grace household.

Funny how life plays little ironic tricks like that. One of the things Thalia had never had was grace or mercy from anyone, including fate itself.

Artemis pressed her lips together. Slowly, she knelt down and removed the chain from around Percy's neck. He walked to Thalia, placing a paw on her thigh. He let out a whine.

Artemis cast one last look at the both of them, and she almost looked regretful. She turned away, letting the tent flap fall back down.

"Oh, Percy..." Thalia started to cry, and for once she didn't care that he saw. For a wolf, he didn't look the least bit intimidating. He looked like a sad, depressed little stray.

She stroked his head. "I'm so sorry," she muttered, over and over. "I'm so sorry."

He let out another mournful whine.

What would she tell Annabeth? The idea suddenly struck her like one of her father's lightning bolts, and the feelings of horror escalated. She felt like she had fallen a thousand feet in that moment.

The thought of telling Annabeth almost scared her more than heights.

What could she do? It was hopeless. She looked down at the furry mistake on the cot.

Percy, however, was snoring from his place on her leg. What a big help he was.

Suddenly, the air beside her shimmered in a brilliant display of colors. The Iris-message's rainbow haze finally cleared enough for Thalia to see the corresponder clearly. She wiped away her tears in a hurry.

Her heart dropped all the way to the depths of Tartarus.

"Thalia, I need your help," Annabeth said. Annabeth was clearly not her usually ordered self. Her curly hair was smushed unnaturally on one side, maybe even worse than Thalia's spiky black tufts. She had indention marks on her cheek from the surface she had slept on- maybe her laptop had been in her bed when she fell asleep. Her clothes were rumpled, and she had circles under her eyes.

Forgetting about her anxiety for a moment, Thalia bluntly stated, "You look terrible."

Annabeth rolled her tired-looking eyes. "Gee, thanks."

The nervousness was ebbing back into Thalia. She was about to respond when the sleeping wolf on her cot was suddenly not sleeping anymore. At the sound of Annabeth's voice, his head flew around in the air, searching for the source. When he finally caught sight of her image, he barked at her, hope in his eyes. Hastily, Thalia pushed him out of Annabeth's line of sight. He struggled, and it took a lot of effort for Thalia to hold him there.

Annabeth's eyebrows furrowed. Her eyes searched for the cause of the commotion. "Thalia, what...?"

"It's- nothing!" she groaned. He was putting up a promising fight. "Stop it!" she hissed at him. He let out a small growl in return.

"That doesn't look like 'nothing' to me," Annabeth said, a confused look on her face.

Finally, Percy subdued. He looked slightly angry at Thalia, but she ignored him. The fear of Annabeth's reaction was back. She opened her mouth to reply. She would just tell her. Percy is a wolf.

How ludicrous would that sound?

Instead, she found herself saying, "Why don't you join me for a camping trip?"

Annabeth looked at her like Thalia had just said _I spotted a dead puppy on the road. _She sighed. "Sorry, Thals, but I'm going on a search for Percy."

Thalia's eyes widened. "Oh, but I don't-"

"Look, I have to," Annabeth said. She sounded desperate, and the pleading undertone hurt Thalia's heart.

"Okay," Thalia said begrudgingly. "But tell me what the Oracle says."

Annabeth tried for a smile, but it turned out as more of a wince. "Thanks. Look, I'll IM you later."

"Okay, Annie."

Annabeth rolled her eyes at the hated nickname, but she had the ghost of a smile still on her lips as she waved her hand over the image.

After the Iris-message ended, Percy's howl was shrill and lonely enough to chill Thalia right to the bone.


End file.
